Production GuideStoryboards
One Moment of Humanity
Production GuideOne Moment of Humanity has no new model effects filmed at Bray Studios. In the script, there is only one SFX shot, marked "stock" with comments "Use shot from Ice Planet Show." (i.e. Death's Other Dominion). In the event, that shot, of an Eagle landing in snow, was not even used, although two planet shots from that episode were used, plus some generic space scenes on the Big Screen.
This was obviously a deliberate decision to do a "bottle show", a term invented by Leslie Stevens on The Outer Limits to refer to an episode made with minimum costs.
Nevertheless, while no model filming was required at Bray, there was a need for special effects on the studio floor at Pinewood, particularly with some of the Maya transformations. Normally floor effects were managed by Allan Bryce, but for this episode, and the next, Brian Johnson brought an effects "2nd unit" to Pinewood to help manage all the shots.
One Moment of Humanity and the next episode, All That Glisters, were prepared together, although they would be shot sequentially. Brian's handwritten notes on the shots for One Moment of Humanity and written on the back of a type-written list of floor SFX shots required for All That Glisters.
All the shots are part of two sequences set at the Vega master computer, which occur intercut while Zarl and Helena dance. The scripted scenes are 52, 54 and 56; as scripted on 12th February, 1976, Maya was a dove, who lands by the forcefield. The bird then flies over the top of the field, clipping it and she falls to the ground. But now she is inside, and she transforms back to herself and examines the computer.
The script was amended on 19th February, but these shots were not amended. We don't know the exact days it was shot, but probably 11th or 12th of March. In that interval, the doves had been changed to parrots (specifically, a Green-Wing Macaw), a second transformation into a beetle had been introduced, and some more action that didn't make it to screen had been introduced.
There are 13 effect shots listed, one of which is crossed out. B.V. here is black velvet.
The storyboards were these were on 3 large A2-size sheets of folded paper. There are 13 shots here as well, but they are different to the above list. The initial shots listed above of Maya's transformation into a parrot were shot and are in the episode.
1-1A. Locked off camera.
Macaw flies along corridor twds force field.
... hits the force field + optical razzle
2. Reverse C/U through forcefield
Macaw tumbles through frame
Seen indistinctly, the bird is probably just landing.
3. High angle looking down at force field + floor
Blue perspex etc.
Parrot staggers about near forcefield
They use green perspex, not blue.
4. B CU (big close up)
Parrot looking around ... - plenty head movement.
Inter-cut
Parrot looking
Forcefield -ants
5. CU Parrot POV Forcefield
Parrot notices ants under forcefield floor - the forcefield fades away.
We see the shot 4, but not shot 5. In the filmed version, there are no ants. Ants are not easily trainable (neither are beetles). It would have been hard to recognise ants without extreme macro photography. If the Vegans had ants near their master computer, the computer is not going to last long.
6. Slow? zoom into parrot's eyes
Not used. Probably difficult to get the parrot to stay still enough.
7. Extreme close up eyes. Still.
We see Maya crouching on ground.
Not used. This would have been the only attempt to do an "eye" transformation with the animal's eye, not Maya's.
8. ... Maya on hands and knees.
She activates f/field with stungun - and slides fingers underneath to check.
The action is different- we see Maya standing up, her hands moving over the perspex. After a cut back to the dance, we return to Maya, now kneeling, still moving her hand over the perspex. Without the ants giving her the clue, she has to examine the force field in this way, although the gap at the base is obvious to the audience. The action with the stun gun suggests the forcefield is normally invisible, so only by activating it with a laser blast can she see the gap.
9. C/s Maya's eyes. We zoom in closer.
10. Macro eye - Maya pupil.
We see beetle.
11. Rev angle. Beetle walks under force field.
12. Beetle eye view.
Track under forcefield to see computer
Not used. Alongside is the note:
We will need samcine periscope lens adaptor to get close to floor. + arri.
Samcine was the brand name of film equipment from the British company Samuelsons Film Service Limited. The same company owned Bray Studios, and was eventually to be absorbed into Panavision UK. Arri is one of the two brands of cameras used by the production, the other being the Mitchell.
13. Estab comp. Zoom
There are various shots of the computer in the above sequence and after.
Thanks to James Winch